The trope of grass to grace is not Davido-esque. Instead, Davido’s run so far has been from grace to grace. His interluding humbling moments cater in part to his resilient spirit, his persistence in the face of multiple adversities, and his eventual solid status in the arena of African creatives, and hordes of them, each one striving to assert their voice in Africa, America, Asia, and Europe.
Editor’s note: This essay is available in our print issue, The Age of Afrobeats. Buy the issue here.
In May 2021, Kurt Alexander, the American radio host of BigBoy TV and a Hollywood actor, was on Real 92.3 FM (an American radio station) with the African Afrobeats heavyweight, Davido. It was an hour-long show where they had a run-down of Davido’s rise to global superstardom. In the chat interjected with jokes and laughter, Davido reflected on decisions, history and obstacles that energized him for success. The interview happened just three months after Davido released his new album, Timeless. Causerie like this provides platform for artists to broach their latest projects. And Davido was not hesitant to let listeners into his world, and how Timeless became his top shot. With Kurt’s occasional cut-ins, we have a strong feel of Davido’s background, and how delightfully his family’s love for revelry and art contributes to the formation of his personality. Appearing on big shows like this is not something new about Davido’s personality; in 2021 he was hosted by Trevor Noah on Daily Show where he vaunted how Afrobeats has taken a leap through his impact.
It is true. Afrobeats has taken a different turn in the last one decade, thanks to the global big shots like Davido, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Fireboy DML, and more lately Rema, Asake and others who have brought it many feathers of paean...
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